The Hand and the Glove... ramblings about making.

Now that the thesis has been handed in, it’s down to finishing the practical work in time for the exam and the Final Show. Preparations are going ahead at quite a pace, joiners busy cutting and nailing, trucks delivering materials. The Hockney Gallery is even having a temporary extension! The dates for the first part of the show are 30th May through to the 8th of June. After our show there’s the Fashion show on the 11th, then the second half starts on the 24th. Check the RCA website for full details.I’ve been trying to sort out the glaze problems, trying different levels of Manganese. The results were not very encouraging- all the tests had some pinholing, maybe I should try a lower temperature, as the oxides will flux the glaze. Phillip Wood, one of the visiting glaze experts came in, so I discussed the results with him. He suggested that the recipe is checked on glaze calculation software to see if it’s correctly formulated. He gave me a base recipe for a 1080° glaze that I made up with a 2/2/2/2 addition of copper, manganese, cobalt and iron oxides. He also gave me a matt black glaze recipe. I made up them both and they are in tonight’s firing.On my way to Euston this afternoon I made time to visit the Wellcome Collection on Euston Road. What an excellent gallery. There was a very moving exhibition of photography called ‘Life before Death’. Large photographs, in pairs of the same person. The first taken a few days before their death, the second taken immediately afterwards. They included people of all ages from infants to the aged. It is a powerful and emotional exhibition. I went along to see the ‘From Atoms to Patterns’, textile designs for the 1951 Festival of Britain that were based on crystallography images of molecular structures.